11th Sunday of OT Year A Homily

This past Friday the Church observed the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In light of our nation’s 250th anniversary our bishops consecrated our nation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Today we reconsecrate our parish to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in order that we may rekindle such faith in Him and His mercy which endures forever. It is His heart which has been moved with pity for us.

When we look at the image of the Sacred Heart we notice a heart which is encircled by a crown of thorns. This represents human sin, coldness, and active rejection to the gift that Christ has offered onto us. As Saint Paul explained in our Epistle that His love is poured out right into the middle of our mess and hostility, not after we’ve cleaned ourselves up.

Saint Paul mentions that we are “justified by his blood” and “reconciled to God through the death of his Son.” In the imagery of the Sacred Heart we see a distinct wound in the side of the heart. This is a reference to Saint John’s Gospel where the solider pierced Christ’s side and blood and water poured forth. This devotion emphasis the fact that His heart was literally broken open to pour out mercy upon a helpless world.

Despite what would seem to be helplessness we see great hope being proclaimed. As Saint Paul states, “how much ore, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life.” In the image of the Sacred Heart we see the flame that brings with it such hope as light is brought forth. We are sacred by His active, resurrected life, and He like this flame continues to pursue us into the here and now.

The consecration of our parish to the Sacred Heart means to consciously and deliberately place our entire community inside this furnace of divine love. Such a consecration calls us back to a spiritual realignment of what is important. We do not rely on our achievements, programs, or strength, but upon the overflowing mercy of Christ. We are asking that we may make our hearts like His.

This consecration must transcend the walls of this church and overflow into the domestic church, that being our homes. When we practice such devotion to the Sacred Heart especially through the Enthronement of one’s home to the Sacred Heart we are declaring that Jesus is the true head of our household. By setting apart a place of honor for His image transforms the home from anxiety to peace and from conflict to reconciliation.

It is precisely from the home and the parish that the renewal of our society takes place. Looking at the world we see fractures in the family, division throughout our nation, and unrest throughout the world. Such a glimpse can be daunting for us, the flame at the top of the Sacred Heart assures us that His mercy is actively pursuing the world. No matter how much culture wanders from Him  it is never beyond that reach of His Pierced Heart. If we are found willing to return to Him, His grace will ripple outward, and more will come to know of the fire of His love.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Corpus Christi Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist is not just a mere symbol of Christ, but is truly Christ present with us Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity under the appearances of bread and wine. To receive Him under our roof is to allow Him to be the one who nourishes us and leads us forth fortified by the gift of God’s grace.

The Israelites underwent a 40 year journey in the desert where the wondered toward the Promised Land. This journey would bring many twists and turns (they were hungry, thirsty, and lost); they would even think that they were better off in their slavery of old. Nevertheless, God heard their cry and poured down heavenly food which would nourish them along this journey.

We too find ourself on such a journey with the Promised Land of Heaven as our ultimate goal. Throughout the pilgrimage of this life we take many twists and turns; it is easy to desire to live the life of old instead of living for Christ Jesus. In the words of Saint Augustine, “Lord, grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.” As Jesus said in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The Eucharist is food for our journey. It sustains us as we travel through the spiritual wilderness of this world. We must flee the slavery of sin and head toward the true Promised Land of Heaven. If we allow our life to be centered upon Christ and His presence among us then we will be given the strength necessary to continue to move forward without looking back.

The manna in the desert could only temporarily fight off death for the Israelites. They ate it daily, they grew old, and they eventually died. If they hoarded it, it would rot for it belonged to this temporal world. The Eucharist grants eternal life for it heals the soul, strengthening the believer against mortal sin and allowing them to live for the Resurrection which is to come.

As we pray when we recite the Our Father, “give us this day our daily bread.” A better translation would be “super-substantial” or  “supernatural” bread which is to say that we are asking for the daily nourishment of the Eucharist for this gift goes far beyond the effects of physical food for this heavenly food also provides for the wellbeing of our soul.

It is so easy to get caught up in things which will never fill. It is most difficult to move ourselves away from unhealthy practices which we have allowed to become routine. Let us dare to look as Saint John the Baptist directs, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Indeed in the Eucharist we behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Let our be centered upon Him and thus may we come to repent of all sin and enter into communion with Him in order that we may allow Him to always remain the food for our journey which leads towards the Promised Land of Heaven.

You have given them Bread from heaven. Having all sweetness with it.

Trinity Sunday Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Such a celebration causes us to contemplate the deepest mystery of faith, the inner life of God. Through the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit we are able to see a perfect communion of love which is being made manifest for us and this world.

As we look ahead our nation will come to celebrate its 250th anniversary. Due to this we anticipate the upcoming consecration of our country to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. I invite you to begin the novena to the Sacred Heart this Wednesday leading up to its feast day on June 12th. Our parish will reconsecrate itself to the Sacred Heart the following weekend.

It is through the beating heart of Christ that we are able to see the mysterious love of the Triune God being made visible. We so often fail to enter into the depths of such love as we turn inward upon self overlooking the needs of others and twisting things entrusted to our care so that they no longer meet their God given purpose.

It is through the Trinity we are able to see the manifest love of God pouring forth without reservation. Through the Sacred Heart we are given a vivid image of this love being made manifest. This heart beats in order that we may turn back to God in order that we may be healed of all that burdens us.

Not only are we in need of such healing, but so is our country and world. We must turn back to God in order that we may come to achieve unity and healing as a nation. We must remember that Christ is King and thus He alone is able to bring us to discover our refuge in the midst of all turmoil. A political party cannot save for Christ who saves upon the wood of the cross.

From Exodus Moses would go to his knees as he pleaded for a “stiff-necked people.” Through our national consecration we acknowledge the need for the Lord to enter in to bring healing to a people that are so in need of His mercy. As Saint Paul would address the Corinthians, “mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace.”

We do not experience the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as something which is abstract. Rather, the Trinity is the outpouring of God’s mercy that is to be received. To participate in the life of the Trinity is to enter in through the door of Christ’s pierced side where we choose to conform our life after the virtues of humility, purity, and the sacrificial love that flows from His Most Sacred Heart.

May our encounter with the Trinity and thus the Sacred Heart of Jesus heal us and the world. Let us take to heart the upcoming consecration of our nation to His Most Sacred Heart. Through such faith and preparation we are prepared to enter into the love of the Trinity and to embrace such a love in the midst of a world touched by sin. 

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Pentecost Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost, which marks the birth of the Church through the outpouring of the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In the Book of Genesis, we are told of the Tower of Babel. Here, human pride rejected God’s design for humanity. At Babel, a unified human race, driven by arrogance, attempted to build a massive tower to reach into the heavens. This was a direct rejection of God’s command to scatter, multiply, and fill the earth. Because of this act of defiance, God intervened by confounding their single language into many, leaving them unable to communicate with one another.

At Pentecost, a profound reversal of Babel takes place. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, “By this power of the Spirit, God's children can bear much fruit. He who has grafted us onto the true vine will make us bear 'the fruit of the Spirit’... The Church, through the scattering of nations, gathers them into the unity of God's family.”

Therefore, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descends, and the Apostles begin to speak in different languages. The miracle lies in the fact that everyone is now able to hear the Gospel being proclaimed in their own tongue. Language is no longer a barrier of confusion, as it was at Babel, because the Holy Spirit allows us to hear and understand the truth that has been revealed.

The fire that descended upon the Upper Room did not come to destroy and isolate, but to purify and to heal. At Babel, there was a prideful desire to storm heaven through human power alone, while the Apostles waited in humble prayer for heaven to descend upon them. Through this divine encounter, we have been unified and are now empowered to confess together that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Today, we are invited to look inward at our own lives. Do we rely upon our own strength, leading us down the path of pride, anger, and division? Pentecost does not leave us isolated; instead, it invites us to enter into deep communion with God, the giver of all good gifts. In the Church, this communion is made manifest as people of every nation, race, and tongue stand together before the altar of sacrifice to give God glory and praise.

Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are given the grace necessary to live this calling out in the world. We can now scatter across this globe as true witnesses to Christ, multiplying His disciples through our love, and filling the entire earth with the radiant glory of His Gospel. We are not sent out alone; we are propelled forward by the gentle, powerful aid of the Holy Spirit.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth.

Ascension Homily

Today we observe the External Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. In being taken up, it would seem that the Lord was giving His final goodbye to His apostles. In reality, by being taken up to Heaven, He is not giving a final goodbye nor making a departure, but is becoming more accessible to them—and thus to us.

As Saint Augustine stated, Christ “did not leave heaven when He came down to us, nor did He withdraw from us when He went up again into Heaven.” By ascending, He transitioned from being beside His followers to being among them in a universal way. If He had stayed on this earth, He could only be present in one place at a time; but now, He is universally present.

Through the Ascension, Christ is glorified and thus no longer bound by space and time. We especially see this in the Eucharist, where Christ is present with us—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. In the tabernacle is truly God’s presence among us, physically and not merely symbolically. This is possible because He has been taken up to Heaven and has not left us abandoned.

Now, with our sight set upon Him, we are able to be led to where He has gone. He is the forerunner, which means that His goodbye is not final. Instead, He is simply the first to walk through the door, which He now holds open for everyone else. Will we place our trust in Him and allow Him to lead us into Paradise, or will we instead attempt (though it is impossible) to enter by another gate?

As we recite in the Nicene Creed, “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.” This time between the Ascension and the Second Coming is not an absence, but a vigil. In ancient marriage customs, the groom would leave his bride to go to his father’s house to prepare a place. In going up, He prepares such a place for us—but will we be found watchful and awake?

We must remain in constant readiness, for “no one knows the day nor the hour.” A vigil requires a state of constant readiness so that we may be found prepared. Frequent confession and a daily examination of conscience assist us in being ready to meet the Lord at any moment—be it today, tomorrow, a week, a month, or years from now.

We are not just waiting for time to pass us by; we are entering into something that should be purgative. By remaining attentive to our spiritual lives, we grow in holiness each day as we continue to choose to follow Him. Living our lives as such a vigil allows us to take the Lord’s Ascension seriously, for through it the world has not been left empty, but expectant.

We must remain expectant, for this is not a "goodbye," but a "see you soon." Let us take this promise seriously and strive, with the assistance of God’s grace, toward where He has been taken up: the Kingdom of Heaven.